Vice President for Academic Affairs

Dr. Nelson Soto, Ph.D.
Provost, Vice President for Academic Affairs

Union Institute & University has named Nelson Soto, Ph.D. as provost and vice president for academic affairs. Dr. Soto will provide leadership to assure the quality of the university’s academic programs, advancing the university’s mission of engaging, enlightening and empowering students, and continuing development of enrollment. Dr. Soto replaces Dr. Richard S. Hansen who retired in January 2013 after serving for eight years.

In announcing the appointment, Union Institute & University President Dr. Roger H. Sublett said, “Dr. Soto comes to Union at an important moment in the university’s history. As we prepare to celebrate 50 years in 2014, he brings a renewed sense of the visionary and entrepreneurial perspective held by our founders when they sought to create a new university in 1964.” Dr. Sublett continued, “Nelson will help us all to solidify our unique university’s distinctions, and to provide rigorous academic programs, complete with the appropriate technology and skill sets that fit the lifestyles of today’s adults–students from across a wide spectrum of cultures and identities who balance education, career, and community responsibilities in a changing environment.”

Dr. Soto comes to Union Institute & University from Harrison College, Indianapolis, where he served as associate provost and vice president for curriculum and instruction since 2010. Prior to Harrison College, he served as an assistant dean in the graduate office at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) from 2008 to 2010 and as an instructional development specialist at IUPUI’s Center for Teaching and Learning from 2005 to 2008. Dr. Soto has served as faculty at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis in the School of Education; at Indiana University, College of Arts and Sciences; University of Missouri-Columbia, College of Education; and the University of Cincinnati, University College.

Dr. Soto holds a Ph.D. in educational policy studies from Indiana University, Bloomington, and bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Cincinnati. His dissertation research focused on teachers’ perceptions and beliefs of Latino middle school immigrants, particularly rural communities that witnessed an increase in Latino immigrants within the past decade.